From slinging dirt to the echoes of slinging slots, the PRI Road Tour concluded its second trip across America highlighted by several iconic go-fast locales.

In this fourth and final installment of our coverage, we begin with a bucket-list dirt track event in Upstate New York, followed by a trip Down South for the second largest drag radial event of the year—No Mercy 12—where PRI called attention to the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2021 (RPM Act) through its title sponsorship of the event’s leadoff competition—the Magic 8 Shootout—followed by the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for an event that at one time could be considered heresy: driverless vehicles at the Brickyard?! Finally, the cross-country road trip wound down as the horsepower ramped up in fabulous Las Vegas for one of the NHRA’s signature races. For complete coverage of all stops on this latest edition of the PRI Road Tour, visit performanceracing.com/roadtour.

NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week

From New York to Iowa, from California to the Carolinas, dirt track racing is one of the most popular genres of motorized competition in North America. Why? Easy: accessibility and affordability. There are thousands of events at some 1,500 tracks across the continent. The events support local competitors while offering national recognition. Classes range from karts up to 900-horsepower open wheel monsters. And importantly, racers can be competitive at a reasonable cost—drivers have a legit shot at earning a share of the purse, which at the most recent NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week was up to $50,000. Super DIRT Week happens at Oswego Speedway, a stone’s throw from Lake Ontario by the tiny town of Oswego, New York. Over last year’s Columbus Day weekend, “The Steel Palace” converted annually to “The Clay Palace” hosted some great competition, from the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 feature, to the DIRTcar 358 Modified Salute to the Troops 150, to the DIRTcar Sportsman Chevy Performance 75, and several others.

Magic 8 Shootout/No Mercy 12

Amateur racers and the businesses that support them know how to put on a great show, lay down some quick runs, and have a good time in the process. While it might not be IndyCar, IMSA, and NASCAR, the competition is no less real, and the drivers and teams are no less competitive. The difference is scale, but don’t be mistaken: These smaller events are still “majors” to the racers and fans who participate in them. Proof positive was Duck X Productions’ four-day event in October at South Georgia Motorsports Park known as No Mercy 12. While the PRI Road Tour has visited several races across the US, PRI was a pivotal asset in this event as title sponsor of the Magic 8 Shootout—an opening night of action where the top eight drag racers in four classes battle it out non-stop under the lights. PRI and Duck X Productions teamed up to support the event and raise awareness for the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2021, a bipartisan effort to protect Americans’ rights to modify and convert street cars, trucks, and motorcycles into race-only vehicles.

Indy Autonomous Challenge Powered By Cisco

On a recent fall weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the familiar sound of two-liter turbos could be heard echoing around a fairly empty Brickyard. But this was no ordinary session, as driverless Dallara-produced AV-21 vehicles lapped IMS with top speeds exceeding 150 mph in the landmark Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) powered by Cisco. In all, the competition consisted of nine separate teams. Specs for the autonomous cars were established by students from Clemson University’s department of automotive engineering, who worked with pros from Dallara and engine provider Energy Systems Network to develop the car and the basis of the technology all nine teams would use. Mechanics and engineers from Juncos Hollinger Racing worked with the IAC teams to put their cars together. To qualify for the purse, cars were required to leave pit lane, run a warmup lap, then take two flying timed laps, and finally a cool-down lap—the latter involved navigating around several inflatable barriers to test cars’ maneuverability. Alas, only four teams managed to complete first-round runs, and ultimately advance toward the winner-take-all $1 million prize. 

Dodge/SRT NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil

If you follow the NHRA traveling circus, you probably know there’s not another event on the schedule that has the same feeling as Las Vegas. In between runs you can see sponsorships being evaluated, old relationships ending, and new affiliations taking shape ahead of the 2022 season. The drama puts extra pressure on drivers and teams gunning for championships, or fighting to retain their rides for next year. In fact, if you had a scorecard you could track the corporate big shots in attendance. Many fly out a few days before the SEMA Show to soak up the sun and catch some great racing before they spend four straight days doing business on the Show floor. Their presence is a force keenly felt by drivers and teams. And, rising to the many challenges present, the racers in Vegas did not disappoint. Multiple records and milestones were achieved over the three-day weekend in late October, which also served as NHRA’s 1,000th event to date.